


Rays of Dawn

by RainbowSerenity



Series: Mermaid AU [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/M, Kissing, Mermaids, mermaid au, not a little mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 12:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19946014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowSerenity/pseuds/RainbowSerenity
Summary: Hope has one more thing he needs to do to say goodbye to his human life. Thankfully, Lightning is by his side to show him the way.





	Rays of Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> written for the summer hoperai event on tumblr~ pretty much a direct continuation to my fic In the Storm

The first time Hope put his head underwater after his mother had drowned at sea, his initial panic had given way to the utter _silence_.

He’d been at a pool party for some old college friend – he couldn’t remember their name anymore – and while he’d been reluctant to go, Noel had convinced him to just come and hang out. It’d been nice at first, but then some jerk started pulling unsuspecting people into the pool and he’d been foolish enough to be sitting on the edge.

Even though there were a ton of people there, Hope remembered nothing but the whoosh of water past his ears. The muffled screams and chatter of everyone above him seemed farther away than he could ever imagine. It was peaceful, in its own weird way.

Maybe that was how Nora had felt when she went overboard – enveloped in a blissful silence. If a pool was so quiet, he could only imagine the ocean was as well, especially in its vastness.

But now that everything was different, Hope wondered how he could have _possibly_ thought the sea carried silence. Everything was a song, tiny parts that all came together to be part of something much bigger.

And now he was a part of the long song.

He made a content sound in the back of his throat. A beautiful rose-haired woman glanced up from her task when she heard, offering him a little smile before she went back to making herself a weapon.

Lightning was his miracle, the reason he was here at all.

Although when he thought about it, they’d really saved each _other._ That was how she preferred it – she’d spent so long owing a debt that she couldn’t bear to owe anything more, especially to the man she loved. They were equals.

Not that he’d ever thought himself _above_ anyone, but there were so many rules and unspoken social norms he’d had to let go of. True, things would probably change once they finally found Serah, but for now…

“Do I get one?” Hope asked after watching Lightning a little while longer. She was making herself a weapon that looked like a weird combination of a sword and a spear.

“You’ll need one eventually,” she agreed. “Though maybe something smaller.”

“Hey!” He wasn’t pouting. He _wasn’t._ “I’ll have to learn to hunt eventually, right? I want to pull my weight when we find the rest of the pod.”

“You’re good at foraging,” she pointed out. “Almost as good as Serah when she sings.”

“I guess that’s okay. For now.” Hope moved a bit closer, brushing some of her hair aside before planting a sweet kiss on her lips. “I still want to learn, though. I want to learn everything. I feel like I could be here for thousands of years and still not know it all.”

Lightning hummed, sliding her fingers against his, a shiver going down his spine when the webbing between them touched. “You have plenty of time.” She pressed her forehead to his. “We have each other.”

He smiled slowly, his tail instinctively curling around hers. His green-gray scales glimmered in some unseen light. “Always?”

She flicked her fin against his. “Always.”

–

Becoming what was essentially a mermaid – merman, in his case – changed him, but not in ways he’d expected. Obviously, he was physically different – one flick of his powerful tail proved that. His skin was hard like stone, cast with a shimmery greenish tint, and there will gills on his neck and webbing between his fingers. He looked nothing like the human that dove into the sea that fateful day when Lightning was nearly taken from him.

But beyond that, he just _felt_ different. It was as though now his _true_ self could really come out in a way it hadn’t been able to when he’d been human. His mind, body, and soul were just… _free._

Not to mention that now his entire world had expanded in ways that people could only ever hope to dream of.

Maybe that was silly to think – after all, he hadn’t done much traveling on land and had hardly seen everything there was to see. Up there, though, there was this _burden,_ something he’d never quite been able to put his finger on until he was here in the sea.

Lightning had once told him that the sea was alive in its own right and he was definitely inclined to agree. It wasn’t so much the waves or all the hundreds and thousands of creatures that shared the space with them, but a sort of _life_ that constantly pulsed in every drop around him. Whether it was because he lived here or something else, he didn’t know. It was magic in itself.

All of this had instantly settled in his heart, like this was where he was always meant to be. Of course, he was a sap who felt like he was always meant to be where Lightning was, but even so, he took to his newfound place in life more easily than anything he’d ever experienced in his human life – even though, this was, of course, one of the most life-changing experiences someone could ever think to have.

There was, however, one thing he missed.

Hope didn’t even realize he was even slightly lacking in anything for a long time. He’d lost count of the days, weeks, months since his transformation. Time wasn’t measured the same way in the sea as it was on land – here, they went by the moonlight. The shine from even the dullest full moon was enough to pierce the waves. He wondered if it had something to do with the moon affecting the tides or if it was more inexplicable magic at work. Maybe both.

Either way, he didn’t keep careful track of the passage of time. Lightning seemed slightly more concerned about it, possibly because every moment that passed was keeping her further and further from her sister. The pod – Lightning’s community, soon to be his as well – had already started migrating before they’d both been brought here. Despite their constant traveling, they hadn’t been able to catch up or find them yet.

Not that he knew what to look for. Despite all of these newfound instincts, Hope knew little in the ways of the culture of his new people. Even though he’d gotten along with Serah the few times he’d met her back when he’d been human, he was a little nervous about the others would treat him.

Therefore, he didn’t mind all of this traveling alone with Lightning at all. As long as they were together, he could handle these endless moons that awaited them, surrounded by nothing but other creatures of the sea.

Except…

“What is it?”

Hope glanced at her, fumbling with the mussels in his hands. “What?”

Lightning cocked her head a bit, her hair floating in a very inviting fashion. “You looked lost in thought.”

“I guess so.” He wrapped the mussels in kelp, just like she’d taught him.

“Is something the matter?”

“Not really.”

She gave him that _look_ , the exasperated expression he’d always lovingly associated with her practically since they’d met. “Don’t give me that. You know you can tell me anything.”

“I know.” And he did. Until they found the pod, Lightning was all he had…not that things had been better on land, which was why he was so hesitant to mention this. “…Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

He glanced upwards, mentally calculating those long, long miles to the surface. “Do you ever get to feel the sun?”

Lightning widened her eyes, clearly surprised by his question. The hesitance in her eyes immediately made him regret asking it and he shook his head, busying himself with the mussels again. “Never mind, I didn’t - ”

“Do you want to go back?”

Her words made him snap his head up to meet her gaze. “What? No! How could you think such a thing?”

“Because here…” She took a stick, drawing a couple of spirals in the soft ground near them. “Sunlight is associated with land. The surface reaps the heat and light, whereas the ocean gets its life from the moonlight.”

“That makes sense.” After all, they lived deep below the sea and were equipped to handle the conditions. He covered her free hand with his. “This is why you asked if I wanted to go back?”

She nodded a little. “None of my people would ever dare to seek out the light meant for the land. We’re not made for it.”

“I’d imagine not.” He slid their fingers together, bubbles streaming out of his gills in relief when she squeezed his hand. “I do wish, though…that I could see it one more time.”

“Why?”

“I remember watching the sunrise with my mother a lot as a kid.” Hope smiled at the memories. “It was usually when my dad was away. We’d wake up early and she’d make our favorite breakfast. We’d eat outside and watch the sky light up with dawn.”

How was it that speaking of Nora came so easily when he was talking to Lightning? When they’d both been on the surface, he’d said more about his mother to her than he had in the decade after he’d lost her. And now here he was, sharing precious memories without an ounce of hesitance.

Maybe Lightning could tell that sharing these memories wasn’t a common feat, because after a long beat of silence, she offered a solution. “We could go to the surface.”

The surprise that shuddered through his fins was so primal that it took him a beat to realize that her suggestion was _odd._ “What? But – what about - ”

“We haven’t found the pod yet, so it’s not like they’d find out.” Lightning let go of his hand and started gathering the food they’d collected. “We could break the water after the moonlight fades. That’s sunrise, right?”

“Y-Yes,” he replied, still flabbergasted. “Are you sure? I mean – that’s not grounds for punishment from the sea…?”

They were both thinking of Lightning’s sin, the one that had tossed her on land in the first place. Thankfully, she shook her head. “That’s not worthy of punishment. The ocean doesn’t scold for curiosity.”

“But the pod would?”

“Yes.” She bit off a piece of mussel, eating it before she added, “It’s for our own safety, after all. You never know when humans will show up. Besides, most of us don’t have any interest in the surface.” She smiled. “But then again, none of them are you.”

He grinned. “None of them are you, either.”

She rolled her eyes, another trait he lovingly associated with her. “Had I not met you, I would be much happier forgetting my time as a human. As it is…”

Luckily, he was prepared when she swam to him, indulging in the kiss she offered. Their arms were full of their food and supplies, so he couldn’t hold her, but this was enough.

They were both smiling when she pulled away. “I can look back on it with some fondness now,” she said. “I can only imagine it’s different for you since you were born human.”

“It is.” He wondered if there would ever come a time when those human memories were a mere afterthought.

“So I can do this for you.” Lightning glanced upwards. “I can bring you to the surface for a bit. It can be a memory between us now.”

“…Yeah.” He looked up as well. “That sounds perfect.”

–

They spent the night looking for a good place to store everything they’d gathered. Apparently there were usually members of the pod who were in charge of carrying things in contraptions made of seaweed and coral when they migrated, but considering it was just the two of them, they’d opted for a different approach. Lightning didn’t want things to weigh them down for their journey up to the surface, though. Briefly, Hope wondered about that – if his new body was faster in deeper depths and if they’d become sluggish closer to land. Maybe it was a reason their people didn’t like to break the surface – more chances of potentially getting caught.

But he put those thoughts aside when they finally found a large, hollow rock just as the moonlight began to fade. Quickly, they stored everything inside. Lightning then turned to him, grasping his hand with a slight smile.

“Are you ready?”

His answer was true, now and forever. “Always with you.”

Her smiled fully formed and without pause, she glanced upwards, tugging him as they began to swim. Their flukes would occasionally brush as they made the journey, always a reassurance that they were together.

How long they swam, he couldn’t really say, but the last of the moon faded just as he felt a change in pressure. It wasn’t a particularly threatening sensation, but it seemed his theory was correct – every kick of their tails took more and more effort the further they got from the deep.

They didn’t say much as they swam, although Lightning kept glancing at him, her brow furrowed. He wondered if she was afraid he would change his mind about wanting to stay with her.

As though _that_ would ever happen.

Before he could reassure her, she stopped and looked up. He followed her gaze, gasping out loud at the sight that beheld him.

They were mere feet from the surface. There was a gentle lap of the waves above their heads, and it seemed _lighter_ somehow, compared to how dense things were far below. The sea was so clear that he could see bubbles of foam form and break, drifting into a graceful nothingness.

When the sea began to glitter from the beginning of the sun’s rays, their eyes met.

“Are you ready?” Lightning asked, echoing her earlier question.

His answer was the same. “Always with you.”

Their hands joined as they slowly kicked, and Hope had the weirdest sensation he needed to hold his breath before leaving the sea, but instead took it all as it came when both of they broke the surface with a splash.

All he could see for miles and miles was the ocean.

It seemed almost impossible to him that there could be so much of nothing and _everything_ all at once. He knew was was under the horizon, but had a human been privy to this view, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to imagine that they were the only one left in the entire world.

Lightning was glancing around, her expression unreadable until her tail flicked at Hope’s underwater. “Look.”

He obeyed and was greeted with the sun.

It was rising slowly, almost as slowly as they’d swam just now. There were a few clouds in the sky that slowly grew pink and orange from the rays. Everything felt soft and new, and he could scarcely breathe for it.

Though he never felt cold in the sea anymore, the sun warmed him like nothing else could. He felt it even through his hard skin that shimmered in the light, and from the way Lightning’s shoulders relaxed, he could tell she felt it too. He couldn’t ever remember feeling so _much_ while watching a sunrise with his mother; not like _this._

Then again, things were different now.

 _Much_ more different.

As dawn continued to rise, Hope realized the real reason he’d wanted to see the sun. Instead of saying as much, though, the primal ways took over and it came in the form of a song.

No humans could hear it. It was for him and Lightning alone, something she instantly realized, because her song eventually joined as well.

His was a goodbye. He’d been torn so quickly from his human life that it was a wonder that he truly had no regrets. No, he’d trade all of this for nothing.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t say farewell.

Lightning’s song was of acceptance – for herself and the mistakes she’d made, yes, but also acceptance of _him,_ and thanking the sea for bringing them together, however horrifying and unthinkable the circumstances had been.

His song trailed into thankfulness as well. How could he do anything but?

When their voices stilled, he felt a sense of peace he hadn’t in a very long time. Lightning was quiet beside him and he knew she felt the same. A sunrise had that effect, he knew, but like so much in life, it was so much more.

The sky eventually grew bright and he knew they had to leave. Maybe this was the last time he’d feel the sun warming his shoulders and toasting his hair, but that was more than okay. The surface was for someone he no longer was – but it would never be forgotten. It was a part of the long song, one so odd he wondered if there would be stories of it years down the line.

Eventually, he looked at Lightning, brushing her hair aside to capture her lips. Like his song, it was thankful – more than that, though, it was _love._

That same love was sparkling in her eyes when they pulled away and he knew he never wanted to be anywhere else.

“Come on, Light.” He turned from the sun and instead faced the dark, endless depths of the sea. “Let’s go home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just...........love mermaid AUs................
> 
> also hello I'm on [tumblr](http://rainbowserenity.tumblr.com), come say hi~


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